A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Sunday, August 13, 2017
Sporadic activity by ‘subversive groups’ not a threat to national security– Army Commander-‘Don’t use LTTE label on every incident in the north’
Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake says that tagging the ‘LTTE
label’ on every incident happening in the north is "completely
misplaced" as sporadic activity by "subversive groups" do not constitute
a threat to national security.
Asked by The Sunday Island about fears expressed of a resurgence of LTTE
atrocities in the north in the backdrop of many violent incidents, he
replied: "You mentioned the word ‘LTTE’, I didn’t. I don’t like people
saying ‘LTTE’ for every incident. My point is that it’s very easy to
connect the LTTE whenever something happens, though it is far from the
truth".
There are other subversive groups in the north. ‘Ava’ is not the LTTE.
There are people creating problems in the south, including university
students, but you can’t just say they belong to one group or another.
You can’t identify them with the 1971-1981 group either. It’s a label",
Lt. Gen. Senanayake said during an interview at Army Headquarters in
Colombo last week.
"We rehabilitated 12,000 plus LTTE cadres and reintegrated them into
society. One person could do something, but that does not mean that all
12,000 of them will take weapons tomorrow morning and start a war. For
that to happen, we should be sleeping without monitoring the ground
situation!", he noted.
The veteran soldier said that when every incident (in the north) is
identified with the LTTE disregarding the factual ground situation,
which was different, somebody is bound to get mileage out of it and link
it up with national security.
There was an attack on two policemen in Kopay. Incidents happen in the
country, but there is no imminent threat to peace. There is no major
issue as such. There was a shooting during a bank hold-up at Attidiya,
but what if somebody says it was "that one or this one" responsible for
the robbery? Similarly, it is not right to say ‘LTTE’ whenever there’s
an incident in the north, the army chief pointed out.
"People in the south depend on what they hear of happenings in the
north. If you live in the north then you will see something different.
It is clear there is no threat to peace", says Senanayake, who was based
in the north as Commander Security Forces - Jaffna (SFHQ-J) and Colonel
of the Special Forces Regiment at one time.
The army is deployed in the north. There are Divisions of the military
in the North and East, he stressed. "The army is not confined to
barracks in the north. We move out".
"I invited the Mahanayake Theras to visit the north. As a sequel to this
invitation, the Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chaper will be undertaking a
visit to the north on August 28-29", he noted.
Asked about Sri Lanka’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations,
Senanayake replied: "Earlier, we were ready to send one battalion to
Mali, but the requirement there also changed. They wanted a composite
company – 35%-40% of the normal contingent. So we are sending those
troops there first. I have discussed about the next company going there.
I said we are ready but need time to send the equipment".
Continuing, he said: "The construction team has already gone there to
build the basic infrastructure. We need vertical and horizontal
structures for accommodation. With a part of the equipment shipped in
April, our troops are already on the job. I was asked whether the
company can be used to also put up camps of other (peacekeeping) troops.
I said ‘yes’ as long as we are paid for it. There is no charity for us
in Mali".
The Army Commander expressed confidence that the contingent will be
moved by the first week of November. The shipment of equipment will
start by end September. "From November onwards, we will be able to reach
one entity and may be by December, the first convoy will be in place".
"We also agreed to provide women soldiers as peacekeepers to strike a
gender balance. They can serve as staff officers and observers. It’s a
difficult task, but I said there are smart women in the army who can
also take over military police duties. We are ready to even to send up
to brigade level – three battalions plus the command elements", he
explained.
Sri Lanka has produced 16,000 peacekeepers so far with missions in
Lebanon, Sudan and South Sudan, Senanayake continued. "In South Sudan,
the army took professionalism to foreign shores with the establishment
of its first-ever SRIMED Level 2 Hospital in Bor under the UN Mission in
South Sudan (UNMISS)".
"When they came here to give us another task, they were amazed when they
saw the military hospital with all its modern facilities at
Narahenpita", the Army Commander emphasized.
He said that army has also offered humanitarian demining, which is
another area Sri Lanka has the expertise. Only 12% of the country still
remains to be demined and in terms of the target, the country will be
free of anti-personnel mines by 2020.
"With our experience exposure and expertise, the army is ready to
undertake demining operations whether in Africa, Cambodia or Laos", he
said.